BISMARCK, N.D.—A man captured in a North Dakota farm field and his woman companion are facing new questions in a pair of Kentucky killings, along with charges of murder in Minnesota and attempted murder in Louisiana, authorities said.

McHenry County Sheriff Marv Sola said Jeremy Brooks, 27, was arrested north of Drake, in central North Dakota, about 6:30 a.m. Thursday.

“This morning, they got the job done. He was north of Drake, a few miles, and he was in a field. It was without incident. Nobody got hurt,” Sola told The Associated Press.

Brooks, of Greenwood, La., who sometimes uses the name Travis Allen Guntenaar, is charged in Wright County, Minn., in the killing of Ruth Ouverson, 58, of rural Montrose, Minn. Her body was found in a bedroom closet of her home on Aug. 4.

Also arrested was Coty Martinez, 28, of Cut Off, La., who authorities said was traveling with Brooks. The two face charges of attempted first-degree murder and armed robbery on June 2 in Slidell, La., where authorities say Martinez lured a man to a hotel room and Brooks nearly beat him to death with a malt liquor bottle and a tire iron.

Martinez and Brooks were also being sought by police in Louisville, Ky., for a pair of homicides, Louisville Police Lt. Barry Wilkerson said Thursday.

The duo are considered persons of interest in the deaths of Hugh Patrick O’Dea, 69, and an unidentified person in Louisville earlier this month. O’Dea’s body was discovered on Aug. 4. The other victim was discovered on Aug. 6.

Sola said he was aware of the Kentucky cases though he had no details.

Martinez was arrested Tuesday night along a road, after asking a woman for food outside Drake, authorities said. North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Jeff White said Martinez helped authorities pinpoint a “couple of areas of particular interest” in their search for Brooks.

White said authorities found evidence of a few sites where Brooks had been camping. The area around Drake, a farming town of about 320, is a mixture of open fields, tree rows and farm buildings.

Two teams of 15 officers using night vision goggles “flushed” Brooks from a hiding spot early Thursday, White said.

“We didn’t have him until he started moving and we boxed him in,” White said.

Brooks was not armed, White said. The suspect was “cold, tired and hungry” but didn’t have any intentions of giving up, he said.

“He was still trying to elude us,” White said.

Drake Mayor David Rosel said residents were relieved that Brooks was captured.

“People started locking their doors and taking their keys out of their vehicles a couple of days ago,” he said. “People will probably start unlocking their doors in time, but there are some that are a little ‘goosey,'” Rosel said.

“This is small town USA—we’re not used to have major criminals running around in our wheat fields,” he said.

McHenry County Chief Deputy Trey Skager said two barns burned in the Drake area during the search for Brooks. The second barn fire, in which a pickup also burned, was reported about 4:30 a.m., a few miles from where Brooks was captured two hours later, Skager said.

Sola said authorities are investigating whether the fires were set by Brooks as a diversion tactic.

“The first goal was to catch him,” Sola said. “We’ll be investigating that now.”

“Everybody was just as much a part of catching this guy as myself,” Sola said. “There is no doubt in my mind that we may have saved somebody’s life.”

Brooks’ Southern drawl might have helped lead to his capture eventually, Skager said.

“In this predominantly German area, he might stick out,” Skager said.

Brooks was given a “sandwich, grapes, chips and pop” shortly after his capture, Skager said.

He was being transferred to the North Central Corrections and Rehabilitation Center in Rugby, where Martinez also was being held.

In Wright County, Minn., Sheriff Gary Miller said authorities were not sure whether Brooks and Martinez would face charges in Minnesota or Louisiana first. A federal warrant is involved, he said.

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